34 public reviews
The views here are this user’s only and are not representative of Giant Bomb's thoughts and opinions on the discussed video game. GB's official reviews reside at giantbomb.com/reviews.
Guitar Here Live as a Platform As far as a new "platform" FreeStyleGames has done a commendable job. The new hardware and 2X3 buttons are a nice change and make a lot of sense for a guitar game that emulates a couple of strings. It nice to see "bar cords" that seem more like bar cords than just single button combinations. For that, the developers deserve a lot of credit. The Live First Person Presentation of "GH…
As a big fan of Wreden's previous game, The Stanley Parable, I scooped this game up without a second thought. I was not expecting a follow up or even another funny game. I was just glad to check out what was next for Wrenden. What I found was a patchwork of pretty dull game snippets and a dour tale that was not well told and not very compelling. The setup for the story is interesting enough; one game developers near…
I picked this up after hearing a large number of extremely glowing mentions around the gaming podcasts etc. The amount of glowing references seemed to be growing as I plunked down my cash to check out the full game. After playing this game through to the end, I completely understand the positive buzz but I also recognize a serious shortcoming of this game. It simply does not deliver on what it promises from the…
Alien fans should steer clear of this. In fact, so should everyone else. I knew this fact going in and yet I played through the entire game anyway. Why? Because I am a crazy Alien/Aliens fan and I was hoping that just going through the Aliens world would be worth something, anything. And it was I suppose. But at the same time it made me think about how easy it must be for game development to go horribly wrong. Even…
The game designers deserve some kind of medal for this game. Its just fun from beginning to end. This is the rare game that I will play for 20+ hours. Then I will almost immediately miss the gameplay and play it again on a harder difficulty just to revisit the fun I had a few days earlier. This is a rare experience and a rare game that can compel to this level. Although the gameplay designs do not hide being gamy…
For those who want to relive the kind of gritty noire game that was Max Payne 1 and 2, Max Payne 3 is an apt update and well worth your time. The comic book style of the first two games has been modernized via a Tony Scott film but the gameplay of great slow motion and shoot dodging is well executed. The game also takes a bit of skill much like the original and cannot be played via a run and gun mentality. And while…
After completing the the game, I felt that as a whole, this game is just about as good as ME2 (except for the miserable ending). That being said, the bulk of this review is spent highlighting a number of negative points. I did not include most of the good stuff because most of the other reviews have already done that very effectively. Even though ME3 is really good game experience, that you can't find elsewhere, I…
This game has it all. stealth, action, RPG, adventure, a decent story, beautiful graphics, and great atmosphere. To me, this is the first game of the year contender of 2011 and its set the bar very high. At one point in the game after playing for a few hours, I sort of came to a bit of a wall. With the upgrades I had chosen and the abilities I was granted, I felt a bit stuck and I decided to play the first few hours…
Its got platforming, combat, color shift elements, jumping, timing, leveling up RPG lite elements, etc. The art is fantastic and the style of the whole world is original and intriguing. Its a deep side scrolling game with metroidvania elements and it plays very smooth. Great controls, etc. This is just a lot of game for a small price. Just check out the demo and I think you will get the idea. It has a lengthy single…
I grabbed this when it was on sale over the holidays. The reduced price made it worth picking up. Even though I had heard some pretty negative things about the game, it seemed to be exactly the kind of game I tend to like. A true adventure with a fantastic world and a great quest. It turns out the bad things I had heard were spot on. The acting in this game is so bad, I can only assume it was done by complete…
Any game that gets one thing right can be a great game. And NFS: Hot Pursuit gets one thing right. White knuckle racing. Hot Pursuit is a pretty simple game and does not even bother with things like story. Some NFS fans may miss the cheesy dialog and over the top acting but what Hot Pursuit lacks in camp, it makes up for in addictive racing and take-downs. There are basically three types of races; your timed race,…
Vanquish is a very simply title. Shoot stuff, move fast, look cool. That is it. There is a story in there somewhere (I saw a credit for story writing) but I was moving so fast, I must have missed it. And it could not matter less. The Russians do massive damage to San Francisco and they say they will do the same to New York next. So, you have do dawn the cyber suit of awesome awesomeness and kick Russian robot ass.…
Ninja Theory has put together another unbalanced, hit and miss game. Much like Heavenly Sword, there are some very nice things in Enslaved but there are also some major missteps. On the plus sides, the music is good though I wish it were better integrated into the game. The theme music that plays on the PS3 XMB is quite haunting. The story also has some touching moments between the two lead characters. However,…
After playing "Forgotten Sands" for a number of hours, I was left without any real enthousiasm for this game. The acrobatics are decent but the game's story is simply forgettable and dull. It seems everyone at Ubisoft has forgotten what made the "Sands of Time" a good single player game. Things like a good story that motivates you and makes sense, humor, likable charters, etc. All these are missing from Forgotten…
The roof is on fire, gonna burn it to the ground! I have been on a quest for a really good story driven suspense or horror themed game for a long, long time. Resident Evil 5 was alright, but it didn't have that creepy atmosphere and the story was throw away. Alone in the Dark had some great ideas and music but the gameplay was simply broken. Heavy Rain seemed to have a lot of promise and it was fun but was hit and…
Lets cut to the quick here. If you like creepy horror games, don't even read the rest of this review. Go straight to your local game store right now and BUY SOMETHING ELSE! Anything else. I beg you. A laser shooting pickaxe? Are you freaking kidding me? A poorly constructed Resident Evil game with mysterious monks and elusive Sherpas! This game is simply painful to play. All I could think while I was playing Cursed…
Deadly Premonition is a bizarre title in many ways. First its price $20. Now that does not happen often. But once you look at the game in action, the price starts making (some) sense. The Graphics, voice acting, and music are just plain bad. At best, the graphics and acting seem reminiscent to the Resident Evil games on the PS2. The music is without peer and I mean that in the worst way possible. And to top it off,…
Overall, I am glad to see the next generation of point and click adventures. After all that is basically what Heavy Rain is. Instead of static backgrounds, there are beautifully rendered environments to walk through. Instead of clicking on an object with a mouse, there are some of the best quick time events (QTEs) seen in video games. But how well does this game pick up the torch of graphic adventures and does it…
Lets see if I can get through this review without mentioning Zelda... D'oh! Just figured I would put in a few good words about this game, because it really deserves quite a bit of praise. Darksiders is a action adventure game with quite a bit going for it. Its got a fun combat system, looks great, and takes place in a large, interesting world thanks to a great art style. The music won't take root in your brain but…
I am a huge fan of what this game did right. The story, characters, super human abilities, aliens, etc. They all work together to form what could have been a great game. Unfortunately, it looks as if the team just did not have time to add the polish needed to make it a good game. This is the reason I game it such a low score. I am not scoring it based on its potential, but on its extremely flawed execution. I have…
The battle mechanics of this game will test your patience but what will keep you coming back is the great atmosphere and sound as this games compels you to forge ahead. Yes, the power of Fatal Frame compels you.... the power of Fatal Frame compels you... Gameplay: You wander around the haunted mansion trying to piece together the events that lead to your brothers disappearance. Along the way you will see…
When I first saw DJ Hero, I was not really looking forward to the game. I am not really into the music (or so I thought) and I figured it was just a "cash-in" game riding the coat tails of Guitar Hero and the like. After seeing the gameplay videos, it really looked like a lot of fun and I was getting tired of Rock Band. I have put way too many hours into Rock Band and I was in need of something different and I went…
Ok, 2 of the 3 games were Gamecube but they have been updated to work with the Wii controls. And the Wii controls for MP3 (Metroid Prime 3: Corruption) were the best FPS controls the Wii has ever seen. So, if you have never played these games (WTF?), buying this compilation is an absolute no-brainer. Go buy it right now. Unless, of course, you are not sick of playing party/mini games on the Wii. Seriously, for the…
From the moment I started playing Deadly Creatures it gave me the willies. The quality of the animation of the creatures is simply great. Some of the best animation I have seen in any game, ever. Just walking around as a spider give you the creepy feeling you get when you see or think about spiders. The sound design also adds to the tension and provides a great atmosphere for the game. The gameplay does well to…
You can't talk about RE5 without knowing the impact of RE4. RE4 won a dozen or more game of the year awards back in 2005 and even introduced real gaming to Wii owners in 2007 :) So, the expectations for RE5 were sky high to say the least. And if you don't think that impacts the reviews both positive and negative, think again. The Resident Evil series has also been plagued with another significant battle between…
This is one good looking game, no doubt. The game immediately impresses with a great opening cinamatic and once you get control, its hard to know what you are supposed to do because you are just checking out the graphics. But like most games with great graphics, that does wear off after a while. But KZ2 continues to impress with good setpieces and somewhat varied locations. It also has good use of some well worn FPS…
This game looks great. That is a fact. But what of the story? What of the challenge? The motivation? When you start playing, its as if you were dropped in the middle of the story and you never really know how you got there in the first place. Sure you could say you were a fish out of water, but I would say you were more like an American prankster in the wrong place (Persia) at the wrong time (6th century?). The…
Resistance 2 Review Graphics are great... No doubt, the graphics are better in many ways. More enemies on the screen, more colorful etc. It still has some of the monochromatic themes per level but the general style is much more vibrant. I know that seems contradictory but its not. Each level still has a color theme its just not as bland as R1. New Sprint function... I really like the idea of the new "sprint"…
Dead Space is polished to a brilliant shine. The production values are simply top notch. That includes the art, graphics, sound design, etc. Like all good horror games, the developers payed as much attention to sound as they did to the visuals and it shows. For survival horror fans, there is a lot to like in Dead Space. Much of it borrowed from other successful games in the genre like Resident Evil, Bioshock, FEAR,…
I think the reviews for Dark Sector reflect the unrealistic hype that surrounded this game prior to release. Its was supposed to the first "next gen" game with unmatched graphics, gameplay, etc. Well, given that description, it would have to be put back in its place because it has the kind of flaws that many first and third person games have had early in this 360/PS3 generation. The games story lacks character…
This game is beautiful to look at, pleasing to the ears, and addictive as psychotropics. I think that says it all. The game just has that great balance between fun, frustration, and a sense of achievement (trophy?) that keeps you going for one more level. In PJE, you are a tiny bug-like gimp who can basicly jump around and spin on a silk that you form as you jump from one plant to another. The goal in PJE is…
Graphics Lets get this out of the way. The textures are not overly-complex. So what. The characters are extremely well animated and your own character "Derrick Cole" is also fully animated even though you are in first person. While this is not a first (think Trespasser), its certainly the best fully rendered first person perspective that I have ever played. The world of breakdown may not be colorful and cute but its…
After a few hours of play, I was kind of disappointed. I played a few levels on hard, found it a bit too tough, so I played on "kids" difficulty for a while. I will refer to this later as "phase one". After getting to about the third episode, I figured I had seen all there was to see. How wrong I was. I have a feeling that some reviews will be way off, simply because the reviewer may not have taken the time needed…
As a fan of the original game "Far Cry", I had high hopes for the console games. Recently, I got a copy of Far Cry Instincts Predator for just a few dollars. Therefore, I don't think there is any bias of "buyers justification" in this review. Similar to the original, the levels in FCIP are mostly wide path outdoor areas filled with building to clear out. Where FCIP differentiates itself is in the stealth gameplay…
